Mounting a computer peripheral device using a mounting rail

ABSTRACT

A mounting apparatus for enabling the mounting of a computer peripheral device to a peripheral device bay of a computer system comprises a mounting rail adapted to slideably engage a profile in the peripheral device bay. The mounting apparatus further includes an adhesive element adapted to attach the mounting rail to a side surface of the computer peripheral device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 10/608,727, filed Jun. 27, 2003,which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

A computer includes various components, such as a central processingunit (CPU), main memory, peripheral devices, and others. In somecomputers, especially in servers, multiple bays are provided to receivevarious types of peripheral devices, such as floppy disk drives, harddisk drives, tape drives, optical drives, and so forth. The bays enableconvenient removal and/or addition of the peripheral devices to acomputer. For example, if increased storage capacity is desired,additional storage devices can be added to empty bays of a computer, orexisting storage devices can be removed and replaced with new storagedevices of larger capacity. The multiple bays of a computer also allowfor different types of storage devices to be mounted in the computer.

Conventionally, peripheral devices are removably mounted in the bays ofthe computer with mounting mechanisms attached to the peripheraldevices. In some implementations, the mounting mechanisms include railsthat enable sliding engagement of the peripheral devices in respectivecomputer bays.

A feature of conventional mounting rails is that the mounting rails areattached to the peripheral device by screws or other like fasteners. Oneissue associated with the use of screws or other like fasteners is thata tool, such as a screwdriver, has to be used to attach the mountingrails to the peripheral device. This method of attachment is generallyinconvenient to a user. A further issue is that there may not besufficient space inside a peripheral device to accept the threadedprotrusion of a screw. Also, screw heads take up space, and there maynot be sufficient space between the computer bay and the peripheraldevice for the screw head

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a computer server that hasmultiple bays for receiving peripheral devices.

FIG. 2 is a different perspective view of the bays of the server of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a peripheral device with a mounting railaccording to one embodiment attached to a side of the peripheral device.

FIGS. 4 and 5 further illustrate the mounting rail of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 illustrates a peripheral device having a key profile andalignment elements for engagement to a mounting rail according toanother embodiment.

FIGS. 7 and 8 further illustrate the mounting rail of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a peripheral device with a mounting railaccording to yet another embodiment.

FIG. 10 further illustrates the mounting rail of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a peripheral device with a mountingrail according to further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of the present invention. However, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without these details and that numerous variations ormodifications from the described embodiments may be possible.

FIG. 1 shows an example computer server 10 having multiple bays 14 forreceiving respective computer peripheral devices 12 (one peripheraldevice 12 is shown in FIG. 1). In the example of FIG. 1, the peripheraldevice 12 is a compact disc (CD) drive (e.g., a 5.25″ form factor CDdrive). However, in alternative embodiments, other types of peripheraldevices, such as DVD drives, floppy disk drives, hard disk drives, tapedrives, peripheral cards or boards, and so forth, can be mounted intothe bays 14. The bays 14 may be 5.25″ form factor bays or others. Theperipheral device 12 has at least one side surface 18 on which ismounted a mounting rail 16. In some embodiments, two mounting rails 16are attached to respective two side surfaces of the peripheral device 12(such as a left side surface and a right side surface).

A characteristic of the mounting rail 16 is that it can be easilyattached to the peripheral device 12 to enhance user convenience. Insome embodiments, the mounting rail 16 includes one or more engagementprofiles. The peripheral device 12 has corresponding engagement profilesthat enable the attachment of the mounting rail 16 to the peripheraldevice 12. An engagement profile of the mounting rail 16 includes aprotruding element (e.g., a key), while an engagement profile of theperipheral device 12 includes a receptacle (e.g., a key receptacle) on aside surface of the peripheral device to receive the protruding element.Alternatively, the protruding element can be provided on the sidesurface of the peripheral device while the receptacle is provided on themounting rail. Other engagement profiles also include alignment elementsto properly align the mounting rail to the peripheral device. Asexamples, the alignment elements include alignment posts and alignmentholes to receive the alignment posts.

In alternative implementations, an adhesive is used to attach themounting rail to the peripheral device. The mounting rail can be asingle-segment element, or it can be made up of plural, separatesegments. The mounting rail can be attached to the peripheral device inother ways as well.

FIG. 1 also shows right slots 20 in the bays 14 for slidably receivingmounting rails 16 attached to the right side surfaces of respectiveperipheral devices 12. Slots 22 (FIG. 2) are also provided on the leftsides of the bays 14 to receive mounting rails mounted on the left sidesurfaces of respective peripheral devices 12.

Note that the right and left slots 20 and 22 in each bay 14 aredifferent. The left slot 22 has a latching mechanism 23 to engage aprofile on the mounting rail 16, while the right slot 20 does not havesuch a latching mechanism. Instead, in the example implementation shownin FIG. 1, the right slot 20 has a spring tab 24 for biasing theperipheral device 12 to the left side of the bay 14 to enhanceengagement of the mounting rail 16 in the left slot 22. The latchingmechanism 23 in cooperation with the profile of the mounting rail 16provide a snap-locking mechanism that enables the peripheral device 12to be removably mounted in the bay 14. Tactile feedback may be providedto the user when the latching mechanism is engaged upon mounting of theperipheral device in the bay.

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a mounting rail 16A that can be lockinglyengaged by the latching mechanism 24 in the left bay slot 22. Themounting rail 16A has a main, elongated segment 100. A locking member102 is provided at one end of the mounting rail 16A, with the lockingmember 102 having a generally round shape in the illustrated example.Adjacent the locking member 102 is a neck segment 106 that connects thelocking member 102 to the main segment 100. FIG. 3 shows the lockingmember 102, neck segment 106, and main segment 100 as being integrallyformed. However, in alternative embodiments, these can be separatepieces attached together.

The combination of the locking member 102, neck segment 106, and themain segment 100 defines a locking recess 104, that is configured toreceive a locking flipper 50 of the latching mechanism 24 (FIG. 2). Thelocking flipper 50 is biased by a spring or other like device to itslower position shown in FIG. 2. However, as the locking member 102 ofthe mounting rail 16A (FIG. 3) is pushed inwardly into the left slot 22,the locking flipper 50 is pushed upwardly by the generally round lockingmember 102. Once the locking member 102 passes the locking flipper 50,the locking flipper 50 is biased into the locking recess 104 of themounting rail 16A, which provides locking engagement of the lockingflipper 50 against the mounting rail 16A. Note that in otherembodiments, other types of locking mechanisms 24 in the mounting bays14 can be employed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting rail 16A is attached to the sidesurface 18 of the peripheral device 12 by an adhesive film 110. Theadhesive film 110, which in the example shown in FIG. 4 is generallyrectangular in shape, is attached on one side to a recess 112. Therecess 112 is formed in the side (referred to as the attachment side114) of the mounting rail 16A facing the side surface 18 of theperipheral device 12. Alignment members 116 and 118 are formed onrespective ends of the mounting rail 16A. In the example implementation,the alignment members 116 and 118 are generally cylindrical in shape toprovide alignment posts. However, the alignment members can have otherstructures or shapes in other embodiments.

Also, generally ring-shaped grommets 120 and 122 are mounted onto thealignment members 116 and 118, respectively. In one embodiment, thegrommets 120 and 122 are formed of a resilient material, such as rubberor polymer, to provide shock absorption between the mounting rail 16Aand the peripheral device 12 housing. In an alternate embodiment of themounting rail 16A, the grommets 120 and 122 can be omitted from themounting rail 16A. FIG. 5 shows the mounting rail 16A with the adhesivefilm 110 and the grommets 120 and 122 attached to the mounting rail 16A.

FIG. 6 shows a mounting rail 16B according to another embodiment. Themounting rail 16B also has a generally elongated main segment 200, alongwith a generally round locking member 202. A locking recess 204 isdefined by the combination of the main segment 200, the locking member202, and a neck segment 206.

The mounting rail 16B has three alignment posts 208, 210, and 212. Thealignment posts 208 and 212 are provided at the ends of the mountingrail 16B on its attachment side, while the alignment post 210 isprovided intermediate the alignment posts 208 and 212.

Additionally, the mounting rail 16B has a key 214, which has anelongated plate 216 that is raised above the main surface 218 of theattachment side of the mounting rail 16B. The plate 216 is raised by asupport member 220. Note that the width W1 of the elongated plate 216 islarger than the width W2 of the support member 220.

As further shown in FIG. 6, the alignment posts 208, 210, and 212, andthe key 214 are adapted to engage respective openings and receptacles ona side surface 222 of a peripheral device 12A. The alignment posts 208,210, and 212 are inserted into alignment openings 224, 226, and 228,respectively. Furthermore, the key 214 on the mounting rail 16B isengaged into a key receptacle 230 on the side surface 222 of theperipheral device. The key receptacle 230 has an enlarged portion 232and a reduced portion 234. The enlarged portion 232 has a width that isslightly larger than the width W1 of the key plate 216 of the key 214 sothat the key plate 216 can be inserted into the enlarged portion 232.Once the key plate 216 is inserted into the enlarged portion 232 of thekey receptacle 230, the mounting rail 16B is pushed downwardly by theuser such that the key plate 216 drops below the enlarged portion 232 ofthe key receptacle 230. The reduced portion 234 of the key receptacle230 is able to receive the support member 220 of the key 214. Oncepushed downwardly, the key 214 is lockingly engaged in the keyreceptacle 230. In an alternative implementation, the key of themounting rail 16B can be rotatably mounted in a key receptacle to alocking position, rather than by sliding mounting as discussed above.

The mounting rail 16B on each side of the peripheral device 12A isconfigured to be removable from the peripheral device (such as with asnap-fit arrangement). Alternatively, the mounting rail 16B, oncemounted, is permanently attached. Examples of various connection typesinclude a press-fit connection, function-retained connection, snappingconnection, bayonet type connection, or other removable or permanenttypes of connections and locking arrangements.

The elongated main segment 200 of mounting rail 16B may be curved orbowed such that the ends of the mounting rail 16B adjacent to thealignment posts 208 and 212 contact the side surface 222 of theperipheral device 12A before the key 214 begins to engage in the keyreceptacle 230. Thus the mounting rail 16B bends substantially tolockingly engage the key 214 into the key receptacle 230. This bendingforce will ensure that the rail 16B remains snuggly attached to the sidesurface 222 of peripheral device 12A. Note that a similar arrangementcan be provided on the other side of the peripheral device 12A.

The mounting rail 16 is fabricated from a durable, resilient material,such as polymer (e.g., a glass-filled polymer), metal (e.g., sheet metalmild steel), or other materials. The polymer may be wear-resistant witha low coefficient of friction so that the peripheral device can beeasily and repeatedly engaged or mounted into a bay.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate generally ring-shaped shock-absorbing grommets240 and 242 mounted onto respective alignment posts 208 and 212 of themounting rail 16B. The shock-absorbing grommets are designed to provideshock absorption between the mounting rail 16B and the housing of theperipheral device 12A. These shock-absorbing grommets 240 and 242 areoptional improvements to the mounting rail 16B, and may be omitted.

The middle alignment post 210 is located between alignment posts 208 and212 and generally closer to either alignment post 208 or 212. The middlealignment post 210 is intended to function as an orientation featurethat would prevent the mounting rail 16B from being attached upside downsuch that the alignment post 208 is mistakenly inserted into alignmentopening 228 rather than the correct alignment opening 224, and alignmentpost 212 is mistakenly inserted into alignment opening 224 rather thanthe correct alignment opening 228. If rail orientation is not a concernin a specific application, then the middle alignment post 210 can beomitted from the mounting rail 16B.

An alternate embodiment of a rail orientation mechanism includes the key214 being located substantially away from the midpoint of alignmentposts 208 and 212. In this alternate embodiment, the key 214 providesthe orientation function.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate yet another embodiment of a mounting rail 16C.The mounting rail 16C is made up of two separate segments 302 and 304.The segment 302 has an alignment post 306, and the segment 304 also hasan alignment post 308. Each of the segments 302 and 304 is attached tothe side surface 310 of a peripheral device 12B. As shown in FIG. 10, anadhesive, for example, may be used to attach the segments to theperipheral device. The adhesive attachment is accomplished by use of anadhesive film 312 having a first side to attach to a side 314 of themounting rail segment 302, and a second side to attach to the sidesurface 310 of the peripheral device 12B housing.

In yet another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a mounting rail 16Dincludes multiple segments, with a first segment 402 that is the same asthe mounting rail segment 302 or 304 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. A secondsegment 405 is a screw for fastening to a threaded hole 404 in the sidesurface 406 of a peripheral device 12C. In one implementation, the head407 of the screw 405 enables sliding engagement in a slot of a mountingbay 14. Alternatively, a screw-attached mounting rail similar tomounting rail 402 can be used, except that a screw is used instead of anadhesive for purposes of attachment.

The various mounting rails described above are easily attachable to theperipheral device. Also, with some mounting rails, extra space does nothave to be reserved for screws or other like fasteners. Also, with suchmounting rails, various users do not have to employ tools to attach themounting rails to peripheral devices, which enhances user convenience.

While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerousmodifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the truespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A mounting apparatus for enabling the mounting of a computerperipheral device to a peripheral device bay of a computer system,comprising: a mounting rail adapted to slideably engage a profile in theperipheral device bay; and an adhesive element adapted to attach themounting rail to a side surface of the computer peripheral device. 2.The mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mounting rail hasalignment elements to align the mounting rail with respect to the sidesurface of the computer peripheral device.
 3. The mounting apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the mounting rail has a recess to receive a latchmember of the peripheral device bay.
 4. The mounting apparatus of claim1, further comprising a shock absorbing member provided on a side of themounting rail to face the computer peripheral device.
 5. The mountingapparatus of claim 4, wherein the shock absorbing member comprises agenerally ring-shaped member.
 6. The mounting apparatus of claim 1,wherein the mounting rail is formed of a polymer.
 7. The mountingapparatus of claim 1, wherein an assembly of the computer peripheraldevice and the mounting rail is adapted to be removably mounted in theperipheral device bay with a snap-locking mechanism.
 8. The mountingapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second mounting rail and asecond adhesive element to attach the second mounting rail to the sidesurface of the computer peripheral device.
 9. The mounting apparatus ofclaim 8, further comprising a third mounting rail and a third adhesiveelement to attach the third mounting rail to another side surface of thecomputer peripheral device.
 10. The mounting apparatus of claim 9,further comprising a fourth mounting rail and a fourth adhesive elementto attach the fourth mounting rail to the another side surface of thecomputer peripheral device.
 11. The mounting apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a screw for fastening to the side surface of thecomputer peripheral device, the screw having a head to enable slidingengagement in the profile of the peripheral device bay.
 12. The mountingapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second mounting rail fastenedby a screw to the side surface of the computer peripheral device, thesecond mounting rail adapted to slideably engage the profile in theperipheral device bay.
 13. A system, comprising: a computer peripheraldevice; a bay receiving the computer peripheral device; a mounting rail;and an adhesive element adapted to attach the mounting rail to a sidesurface of the computer peripheral device, the mounting rail slideablyengaged in the bay.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the bay has alatch member, and wherein the mounting rail has a recess to receive thelatch member of the bay.
 15. The system of claim 13, further comprisinga shock absorbing member provided between the mounting rail and thecomputer peripheral device.
 16. The system of claim 13, furthercomprising a second mounting rail and a second adhesive element toattach the second mounting rail to the side surface of the peripheraldevice.
 17. A method of mounting a computer peripheral device in aperipheral device bay of a computer system, comprising: providing thecomputer peripheral device having a side surface; attaching, with anadhesive, a mounting rail to the side surface of the computer peripheraldevice; and slideably engaging the mounting rail in a profile of aperipheral device bay.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:providing a recess in the mounting rail; and engaging the recess with alatch member of the peripheral device bay upon mounting the computerperipheral device in the peripheral device bay.